Congress Introduces the Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act!
We are thrilled to report that the Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access and Research (STAR) Reauthorization Act has been officially introduced in both chambers of Congress!
The original Childhood Cancer STAR Act was signed into law in 2018 and authorized five years of funding at $30 million annually from 2019-2023. The STAR Act was celebrated as the most comprehensive childhood cancer legislation ever taken up by Congress. It represents important bipartisan legislation designed to advance pediatric cancer research and child-focused cancer treatments, while also improving childhood cancer surveillance and providing enhanced resources for survivors.
As the original STAR Act nears its expiration, we ask you to join us in seeking five more years of funding through the Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act (H.R.7630 / S.4120). Children’s Cancer Cause helped draft the original legislation and chaired the Alliance for Childhood Cancer’s survivorship workgroup, which was instrumental in drafting the survivorship provisions of the STAR Reauthorization Act.
April 2022: Dr. Emily Tonorezos, Director of the Office of Cancer Survivorship at NCI, shares her view on the impact of the STAR Act since its passage in 2018.
The bipartisan reauthorization bill was introduced in the Senate by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Its House sponsors are Representatives Michael McCaul (R-TX-10), Jackie Speier (D-CA-14), Mike Kelly (R-PA-16), and G. K. Butterfield (D-NC-01). We thank these Members for their continued leadership on childhood cancer issues.
The STAR Act expands opportunities for childhood cancer research, improves efforts to identify and track childhood cancer incidences, and enhances the quality of life for childhood cancer survivors. By age 50, more than 99 percent of childhood cancer survivors have had a chronic health problem, and 96% have experienced a severe of life-threatening condition caused by the toxicity of the treatment they received.
Reauthorizing this landmark legislation for five more years will enable STAR Act programs to continue making a life-saving impact for the 16,000 children in the U.S. who are diagnosed with cancer every year and the more than 500,000 survivors who face a lifetime of health challenges due to their treatment.
Use this alert to ask your Members of Congress to add their name as a cosponsor: